'Tao pho' (sweet tofu pudding) is a very common and popular sweet dessert made from soy beans. Tofu pudding has the smooth, creamy texture of a light flan, but the taste of soy milk.
Sweet tofu pudding - A delicious dessert of Vietnamese people (Photo: savourydays.com)
The first step in making the dish is to soak the dried soybeans overnight, then mash the beans with water to produce your own soy milk. It is vitally important that the soymilk is stirred and brought to a boil slowly to avoid burning the milk.
It is also important to simmer the milk for 10 minutes after bringing it to a boil in order to bring out the full flavor and fragrance of the soy milk.
The soy milk is then poured into 4g of gypsum powder to coagulate it. The best temperature at which to coagulate the soymilk is 85 DC.
After the soy milk boils, foaming rapidly, pour it into the gypsum powder from about 1 foot above. This will make the ingredients mix together automatically and nicely. Don’t move it or stir the mixture after pouring in the soy milk.
You should cover the bowl with a cloth to absorb steam in order to keep the pudding’s surface smooth. The mixture will settle and become nice and yummy after just 1 hour.
The dessert can be served warm or cold with palm sugar syrup that has been flavored with pandan leaves and ginger and topped with jelly or shredded coconut.